There's a good chance you can name a world elite sprinter, and there's some chance you can even name a marathoner. But when it comes to middle-distance runners, not many are illustrious.
Ditto for chess.
Classical chess ratings are scrutinized to the decimal point, and blitz videos and streams are consumed in Netflix-type binges. But where's the love for the middle discipline, rapid chess?
In the latest event to attempt to establish the Steve Prefontaine of chess, the 2018 Saint Louis Rapid &...

If chess had off-board-betting facilities, today would have ended with tickets strewn over the floor. It was that unpredictable in day two of America's chess capital.
GM Fabiano Caruana still leads the 2018 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz by two points after drawing all of his games today. He again got black twice, and was never in much trouble, although now the number of players only one two-point win back has grown to four: GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Hikaru Nakamura, Sergey Karjakin, and Shakhriyar...

The "Immortal Game" is one of the most famous chess games ever played! Played in 1851 as an informal match between two European math professors, Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky, this game has become a true showcase of classic 19th century chess where startling attacks and sacrifices were all the rage.
The Game
White: Adolf Anderssen
Black: Lionel Kieseritzky
1. e4 e5 2.f4
The King's Gambit. This risky gambit opening was very popular in the 19th century! White sacrifices...

Hello my chess friends. What is a fortress and how can a fortress help you in your own games? In this post we’re going to talk about this. First I’ll try to explain it with my own words, and then we’ll see some practical examples. Let’s begin.
We have a fortress when we’re in obvious material disadvantage, but we can find a position for our pieces where our opponent doesn’t have a way to make any real progress. We’re going to see fortresses mostly in endgames,...

It's a bit of a writers' crutch to take any winning streak by GM Fabiano Caruana and allude to his seven straight wins at the 2014 Sinquefield Cup, but sometimes the man gives us no choice.
Caruana made history again today, this time at the 2018 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, where he became the first person to start any Grand Chess Tour rapid event 3-0 in the opening day of the rapid portion (hat tip: Isaac Steincamp on Twitter). The scoring system awards two points for a win, so the world championship...

On March 24, 1937, the leading Soviet chess magazine 64 published a theoretical article about a new opening system it called the "Panov Defense."
I challenge you to identify the moves of this opening line. Yes, you can Google it if you wish! Just don't confuse the "Panov Defense" with the "Panov Attack" in the Caro-Kann defense.
Give up already? OK, here is the game that started the new system:
I almost can hear your protests that the opening of this game is called The Old Benoni...

Get ready for another football match and penalty shootout, although unlike normal, the shootout will come first.
The 2018 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz and 2018 Sinquefield Cup opened today with a brief ceremony, and the first moves will be played tomorrow. The classical time control event, the only one on the Grand Chess Tour docket this year, will be the later event, flip-flopping from the 2017 schedule.
Club Director Tony Rich isn't supposed to play favorites, but it seems he's already...

Welcome again to another learning chess experience.
You will look at eight positional puzzles and, as you finish each one, you will click the question mark (“?”) underneath the board next to the light bulb. This will allow you to see all the instructive prose.
If you fail the puzzle, don’t worry! This isn’t a contest, it’s just an enjoyable way to learn new things.
PUZZLE ONE
DIAGRAM
(Black to move)
Black, who has a small edge, has a couple interesting...